Joan Cherry – AIM Associate trainer
Bachelor in Social Studies (BSS); Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW); Family Therapy Qualification, Institute of Family Therapy, London;
M.Phil. in Social Work Research
Joan Cherry is an AIM Associate Trainer. She is a qualified social worker and family therapist and has worked in the statutory and voluntary sector in both the UK and Ireland. She developed an interest in the field of sexual abuse while working in a CAMHS service in Dublin. She worked with children who had been sexually harmed predominately by adolescent boys and became aware of the lack of services for this latter group. She is a founder and for seventeen years, was the Director of the Northside Inter-Agency Project (NIAP), a community-based assessment and treatment programme for young people who sexually harm and their families in Dublin, Ireland.
The main aim of NIAP is the protection of community by early intervention with young people and their families. The NIAP service provides individual, family and group therapy to young people and their parents/carers. NIAP is committed to undertaking research both to evaluate its work and develop an increased understanding and skills in working with young people who sexually abuse. NIAP’s publications have made a substantial contribution to this field.
Joan has wide experience in the field of sexual abuse, providing assessments and therapeutic work to young people and their families and offering training and consultations to professionals and organisations. She has presented at conferences both nationally and internationally. She is the author and co-author of several research studies, journal articles and book chapters.
Publications
Group Therapy with Adolescents who sexually offend (Cherry)
Psychological profiles of sexually abusive adolescents in Ireland (Cherry)
Profiles of Child Sexual Abuse Cases in Ireland: An Archival Study
